Schools watchdog chief David Hoare told a teaching conference how the under-performing area came up in conversation at dinner parties.

REVILLE@education.gsi.gov.uk

'Shocking' slur . . . schools watchdog chief David Hoare says he lives seven miles from a 'ghetto' on Isle of Wight

The former City banker said he had a house overlooking the island and he often told his guests: “We’re seven miles away and you don’t know we have a ghetto seven miles away. British, white, poor, living on the Isle of Wight.” He added at the event in Leeds: “It is shocking. There has been inbreeding.

"Seven state schools were all less than good. There is a mass of crime, drug problems, huge unemployment."

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Isle of Wight council leader Jonathan Bacon said he will seek an explanation from Education Secretary Justine Greening over the comments which he said were “truly offensive and bear no relation to the facts”.

Alamy

Poor standards . . . Hoare said the Isle of Wight was 'the second worst local authority for secondary schools'

Green Party education spokeswoman Vix Lowthion said Mr Hoare was unfit for the job and should resign.

In a statement, Mr Hoare apologised “for any upset or offence I may have caused”. He said: “My intention was to highlight how concerned I am about the unacceptably poor performance of schools on the Isle of Wight over many years.

“It is important that we draw attention to low educational standards, especially among low-income white British communities in our coastal areas, so that collective action is taken to improve the situation.”

He said it was “the second worst local authority for secondary schools and the third worst for primaries”.

An Ofsted spokeswoman said: “The Chairman was expressing his personal views. They do not reflect the views of Ofsted or the Chief Inspector.”